Vande Mataram!
Did you celebrate the Amrit Mahotsav of 75 years? What euphoria!
My friends and I went out with flags on our cycles, danced to Rang De Basanti on Nariman Point and roared slogans. And others joined in.
Amazing what great packaging can do to us, na? (But we’ll discuss this some other day)
We at Hastākshar were also celebrating completing a milestone of 75 issues.
So now, let’s get on with the 76th.
If you’re an old subscriber, you’ll remember Vishal Sir’s story that I’d shared (in Issue #44)
He saw two kids fighting for a ball at Marine Drive.
The younger one was overpowered. He lost the ball and started crying.
He thought that once he got the ball, everything would be perfect. All his troubles would end.
We’d discussed that at that moment, he would have said no to a chocolate, a 1000-rupee note or anything else – including a diamond.
All he wanted was the ball.
Today, let’s think about what would happen if he got it.
He would stop crying. Yes.
He would stop fighting with his brother. Yes.
He would start feeling better and happier. Yes.
Because he got what he wanted. He got the ball.
Is getting what we want the basis of happiness? Of peace?
I’ll be honest. For the longest time, I believed that.
It’s pretty logical, right?
You want something. You’re sad that you don’t have it. Then you get it.
Problem solved. Happiness.
But my belief was questioned during a conversation last week.
“Deep, think again: is it the fulfilment of desire that makes you happy?”
“Absolutely yes. After all, that’s what I’ve always experienced.”
“Then why do the wise say that true happiness is in the lack of desire?”
“No idea. That’s a big contradiction between theory and practicality. Perhaps that’s why.”
“Ha ha. Fair enough. But look at practical life once again. Re-evaluate your experience that you’re so sure about.”
“What do you mean?”
“You do feel happy when you get what you want. But are you feeling happy because you get what you want? Or could it be because of something else?”
“All I know is that I feel glad, happy. But if not for getting it, what else could it possibly be for?”
“Go back to what the wise men say. Pay attention to their words.
The happiness doesn’t come from getting what you want, but the relief from desiring what you want.
Let me explain.
When your desire is fulfilled, the mind has to stop dealing with the pressure of wanting one more thing.
And that’s where the happiness really comes from.
Say you crave food, and someone gives you food. You’re glad that your body no longer needs food.
Don’t focus on what you’re getting externally. Instead focus on what you’re getting internally: temporary freedom from hunger aka the desire to eat.
So the less you desire, the lesser pain you will be in and the fewer ointments/ fixes needed to relieve that pain.
So yes, there is no big contradiction between theory and practice.”
What do you think?
